Youth, Power and Opposition: The Political Construction of Street Demonstrations in Tanzania, 2020–2025

Abstract

This research examines the political transformations that took place in Tanzania between 2020 and 2025. The focus of the research is on the 2020 and 2025 elections, the 2024 constitutional reforms, the state's forms of pressure on the opposition, and street demonstrations. Digital mobilisation and the new culture of opposition have emerged as an alternative space against the state's institutionalised mechanisms of repression, particularly in mass demonstrations organised by young people and the opposition. The hypothesis of the study is formulated as follows: as a result of the state's crackdown on street protests in Tanzania between 2020 and 2025, young people developed flexible forms of protest through digital networks and supported the opposition in this way. The findings reveal that political competition in the country is restricted by the state and that democratic actors and institutions have lost their functionality. The 2020 elections of the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, demonstrate that a multi-party system exists legally in the country but does not function in practice. The banning of opposition rallies, the arrest of opposition leaders to prevent them from participating in elections, media censorship and internet bans demonstrate the rise of authoritarianism and single-party rule in Tanzania. On the other hand, the opposition and young people have developed digital mobilisation and a new culture of opposition through social networks. The state, meanwhile, suppresses political activities through institutional apparatus such as the judiciary, the army and the police. Nevertheless, the fact that young people are responding to the calls of opposition leaders demonstrates the potential for the country's democratisation process to take shape in the coming years.